Ryan Painter

My climate work has been hands-on and local.

- As a Greater Victoria Green Team volunteer, I've helped remove invasive species so native plants and habitat can recover.
- As treasurer of the View Royal Community Association, I've helped keep neighbours connected and involved in the life of our town.
- As a School Trustee, I supported free transit for youth under 18, supported declaring a climate emergency, voted to approve our Carbon Neutral Action Report and plan, supported the addition of four electric school buses to our fleet, and spoke publicly about the circular economy needing to be a focus of the Board of Education.
- As a not-for-profit leader, I have supported environmental and climate-focused charities and not-for-profits with grant education, application, and appeal processes to enable them to support their work enhancing and protecting our parks and local environment.
-At home, we recycle, control invasive species, plant pollinator-supporting flowers and plants, and refrain from the use of herbicides and pesticides.

My approach is practical. Plant trees where the canopy is thinnest. Make transit, walking, and cycling real choices by fixing broken linkages and ensuring the safe use of walking and cycling networks that align with the View Royals Active Transportation Plan. Fix our infrastructure before the next storm tests it. Climate action works best when it also lowers bills and makes daily life easier. That's how I'll lead.

What would you do to alleviate the traffic congestion throughout View Royal?
Traffic is the number one issue I hear at the door, full stop. The fix starts with being honest about who controls the 70,000 vehicles that come through View Royal every day. According to the Town's Transportation Master Plan existing conditions report, 87% of trips through View Royal start or end somewhere else. Our roads carry the West Shore commute, and the Trans-Canada Highway is under the Province's explicit jurisdiction. View Royal needs a mayor who can get results from the Province, BC Transit, and our neighbours.

My plan has two tracks.

1. Move traffic now:

- Coordinate signal timing along our main corridors so the lights work together instead of stopping traffic at every intersection.
- Fix the worst trouble spots first, starting with Six Mile Road and the Island Highway.
- Put servicing and road upgrades in before new homes are built, not after.
- Work with large employers on shift change timing.

2. Give people real choices:

- Push for faster, more frequent regional transit, with bus priority where it moves the most people.
- Build safe, connected walking and cycling routes to schools, shops, and the Galloping Goose.
- Keep pressing to restore rail service on southern Vancouver Island, leveraging recent federal investments and our commitments to the Reconciliation Corridor Initiative.

View Royal priorities must be evidence-based. Cars idling on the Island Highway burn fuel, money, and family time. Fixing traffic flow

Yes. I served on and chaired the Town's Parks, Recreation and Environment Advisory Committee. In that role, I supported the Urban Forest Strategy through to its adoption in March 2026. I've seen how these plans get made: the resident input, the staff work, and the trade-offs the council has to weigh.

These plans matter because they are the Town's written promises to residents. The Urban Forest Strategy commits View Royal to 30% canopy cover by 2045. The OCP, Climate Action Plan, and Active Transportation Plan set out what fits where, how we cut emissions, and how we make walking, cycling, and transit real options.

As mayor, I will:

- Tie each year's budget to specific actions in these plans, so residents can see what gets funded and when.
- Move early on Urban Forest Strategy actions, including a municipal arborist and clear standards for arborist reports.
- Report progress every year in plain language.
- Finish what we start, on schedule and on budget.

I've spent this campaign listening at doors across View Royal, and I've heard that residents are tired of plans and studies. They want these plans to show up on their street: more trees, safer crossings, and a bus that comes when they need it.

I support it, done in the right order, with taxpayers protected.

First, know the numbers. Climate costs already show up in our budget: larger culverts, storm damage, heat response, and tree loss. Council should direct staff to estimate current and future climate costs and report them using a recognized standard, such as ICLEI's Climate-Related Financial Disclosures guide. That's basic financial planning.

Second, fairness. Residents shouldn't carry the full cost of damage they didn't cause. I support View Royal joining other BC municipalities and UBCM in a coordinated effort to recover climate costs from major polluters. I won't have View Royal go it alone or commit taxpayer money to open-ended litigation. Before any step, council needs legal counsel's advice and a public assessment of the financial risk to View Royal under every possible outcome.

Value for every tax dollar is a core commitment. Counting climate costs honestly, and asking those most responsible to pay their share, is part of that.

Right to cool: I support protecting tenants in extreme heat. The 2021 heat dome showed what's at stake. I'll ask staff for options, including what the Town can require under its bylaw powers and the cost to small landlords, so we act on something that works.

AI data centres: None are proposed in View Royal, and council already controls land use through zoning. I'd judge any proposal on a case-by-case basis, with strict conditions on water and power use. I won't promise a symbolic bylaw when we already have the tools.